PULUHAN RIBU SERTAI DEMONSTRASI BANTAHAN TERHADAP PEMERINTAHAN MUBARAK

Puluhan Ribu Rakyat Mesir Keluar Ke Jalan Raya Desak Hosni Mubarak Berambus

CAIRO (Reuters) – Police and demonstrators fought running battles on the streets of Cairo on Friday in a fourth day of unprecedented protests by tens of thousands of Egyptians demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule.

Security forces fired rubber bullets, teargas and water cannon at protesters who hurled stones back at them and shouted “Down, Down, Hosni Mubarak,” witnesses said.

Anti-government activists had promised a “Day of Wrath” after Friday prayers in the country’s mosques and urged thousands of people to join in the demonstrations.

Police blanketed Cairo and blocked social networking communications in an effort to stifle the protests but the violence broke out soon after prayers finished.

The protesters, many of them young Egyptians embittered by unemployment, poverty, corruption and the lack of freedom under Mubarak, appear to be loosely organized with no figurehead.

Prominent activist Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Laureate who has called for an end to Mubarak’s rule, arrived in Egypt on Thursday. But after he joined prayers at a mosque in the Giza area, police blocked him from leaving the area.

The unrest is unprecedented in Mubarak’s rule in Egypt, where security services keep a tight grip on dissent. It was triggered by the overthrow two weeks ago of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Al Ben Ali in a popular revolt which also inspired anti-government protests in Yemen and Algeria.

The events pose a quandary for the United States, which has professed its wish for democracy to spread across the Middle East. Mubarak, however, has been a close Washington ally for many years and the recipient of huge amounts of military aid.

In response to the protests, U.S. President Barack Obama said social and political reforms in Egypt were “absolutely critical.”

“Inflation has exhausted people. Prices of food, fuel, electricity, sugar are rising. The rich get richer and the poor poorer,” said a Cairo taxi-driver, declining to be named. “God knows what will happen today. After Tunisia anything is possible.”

Some protesters threw shoes at and stamped on posters of the president. But as the clashes intensified, police waded into the crowd with batons and fired volleys of teargas.

“Leave, leave, Mubarak, Mubarak, the plane awaits you,” people chanted.Reuters

Egyptian Leading dissident and former UN nuclear watchdog Chief Mohamed ElBaradei (C) attends a demonstration after Friday noon prayer in Cairo on January 28, 2011 as Egyptians take to the streets demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, 82-years-old, who has held on to power for more than three decades.

Egyptian anti-riot policemen clash with protesters in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. The Egyptian capital Cairo was the scene of violent chaos Friday, when tens of thousands of anti-government protesters stoned and confronted police, who fired back with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons. It was a major escalation in what was already the biggest challenge to authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year-rule.

Egyptian anti-government activists chant slogans and hold a poster of the Egyptian resident Mubarak, with Arabic reading: “mercy mercy, you traitor to your people” as they protest in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. The Egyptian capital Cairo was the scene of violent chaos Friday, when tens of thousands of anti-government protesters stoned and confronted police, who fired back with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons.

Egyptian demonstrators perform the Friday noon prayer in front of riot police during a demonstration in Cairo on January 28, 2011, demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Egyptian anti-riot policemen fire tear gase at protesters in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. The Egyptian capital Cairo was the scene of violent chaos Friday, when tens of thousands of anti-government protesters stoned and confronted police, who fired back with rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons. It was a major escalation in what was already the biggest challenge to authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 year-rule. At center is a statue of famous Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum.

CAIRO, EGYPT – JANUARY 28: Locals pray in the street in front of The l-Istiqama Mosque watched by riot police in Giza on January 28, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. Thousands of police are on the streets of the capital and hundreds of arrests have been made in an attempt to quell anti-government demonstrations.

CAIRO, EGYPT – JANUARY 28: Riot police face protestors on the Kasr Al Nile Bridge on January 28, 2011 in downtown Cairo, Egypt. Thousands of police are on the streets of the capital and hundreds of arrests have been made in an attempt to quell anti-government demonstrations.

Egyptian demonstrators pray in central Cairo during a protest to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and calling for reforms on January 28, 2011. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Cairo, facing a massive police presence, to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in a protest inspired by Tunisia’s popular uprising.